Fidelity Bank Plc has announced it shall pursue legal remedies against a “malicious and sponsored” publication alleging that the purchase of 18,000,000 units of shares by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, was conducted using bank funds.
The legal move was disclosed in a statement on May 23, 2025, signed by the bank’s Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Meksley Nwagboh.
The bank responded to what it termed a “misleading article” published on May 21, 2025, by a media company.
The report alleged that the bank and its MD/CEO took personal advantage of material, price-sensitive information to engage in insider trading and used the bank’s funds to purchase 18 million units of its shares.
The bank described the report as “blatantly false allegations.”
Fidelity Bank’s Response
According to the bank, the financial institution is a publicly quoted company regulated by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and subject to the Listing Rules of the NGX as well as regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Nwagboh stressed that neither the bank nor its MD/CEO has ever engaged in insider trading at any time.
- The official added that the MD/CEO funded the referenced share purchase transaction from personal sources, as she neither took a loan from the bank nor used its funds to purchase the shares.
“The transaction was conducted strictly in accordance with the Listing Rules of the Exchange and the regulations guiding insiders’ dealings in the shares of publicly quoted companies.
“The transaction was duly disclosed and published on the trading floor of the NGX in accordance with the Listing Rules.
“Similar transactions are undertaken by insiders of various publicly quoted companies virtually on a daily basis and published on the Disclosure Portal of the NGX,” the statement partly reads.
- In addition to the SEC and NGX rules and regulations on insider trading, the bank highlighted that it has a documented internal Insider Trading Policy that ensures its “Insiders” and their “Connected Persons” transact in the company’s shares only when trading in its securities is permitted (i.e., Open Periods).
- The bank assured that it would sue the source of the said publication in its bid to protect the bank’s reputation.
“Furthermore, we shall pursue all legal remedies available to us in relation to these malicious and sponsored publications, which were clearly intended to defame the character of our Managing Director/CEO and cause reputational damage to the institution,” the statement added.
- Fidelity Bank Plc maintained that it remains a strong, profitable, and responsible financial institution, and among the most capitalized banks in Nigeria today with international operations.
What You Should Know
Nairametrics earlier reported that Fidelity Bank Plc announced the purchase of 18,000,000 units of shares by Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe.
- This was disclosed in a notice of directors’ dealings published on the Nigerian Exchange on May 19, 2025, and signed by the Company Secretary, Ezinwa Unuigboje.
- According to the disclosure, the 18,000,000 units of shares were acquired at a price of N20.35 per share, bringing the total value of the purchase to approximately N366.3 million.
- With this purchase, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe’s total shareholding in Fidelity Bank has risen from 94,644,260 units to 112,644,260 units—an increase of 19.02%.
- Her stake now represents 29.03% of total director shareholding, up from 25.56% as of December 31, 2024.
The acquisition also appears to have fueled trading activity, with Fidelity Bank leading the volume chart on May 19, 2025, with 60.1 million shares exchanging hands on the Nigerian Exchange.
The purchase will likely boost investor confidence and comes on the heels of a disclosure made the same day, in which the bank refuted a false bankruptcy claim it said was orchestrated by a certain media group to discredit and embarrass the institution.
On May 23, Fidelity Bank won the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Award 2025 for the Most Improved Commercial Bank of the Year.
